To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

Mt. Vernon Democratic banner (Mount Vernon, Ohio : 1853), 1860-12-18

page 1

win j V7 r . V 1 II 1 f. l I If I L I fl " I r - I II I -I I i CO a VOLUME XXIV. MOUNT VERNON DECEMBER 18, 1860. NUMBER 35. ,.-vs&Sr if' Ihe ffi- JieHoi) fiebloetic Snf is puBLrs vcd xVssr rtrfcshAV: Mbaxixe, DY 1. UAlUfJBtl. V' fflc la TVViitfAfJTBlbcki Tixiia tfar TERMS T 4ollarspr annum, payable in sd-Vane; $2,50 witaln six months; f 3,00 after the ex- fatida at the year Clubs of twenty, $1,50 each. " waBBwaBaBBBBWJBBaaBaawaaaaBaBBteBBBaaMeaaaawaaaeBBeaaaB PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. i'cUoto-citixcn of the Senate and llousc of Representatives; Thrdifrhont the year since our last meeting. lift tduutry hai beta eminently prosperous in Gallics raaterUl interests. Toe geoeral health bjia beeoexe'!'ieut, our harvests have been wbuudau I, aad plenty 8m ilea throughout the land. Oar oommjres and manufactures . have been proseeated witli energy and industry, aod have yielded fair and ample return.' fa short, dj nation in the tide of time has ever preseoted a peciacle of greater material prosperity than i 1iare done ntH within a ry tecent period. Why is it, the, that discontent now so ex. ten lively prevails, and the Union of the State, irhicu is the source of all these blessings, is threatened with destruction ? The Iong'coutiu oed and intemperate interference of the North: era people with the question ot slavery in the Southern States has at 4engtb produced UK nat-'oral -Tct3. The difereTit sections of the Uuion aie now arrayed against enth uthet, and the .time ha arrived, sojnuch dreaded Hy the Father "of his 0 U'itry, when hostile gear ipbical parties havbn hftne. I hav lon'tarseen and often Torewarued my touuttymeii of the now impeud-ihjf danger. This dues not prucet-d tritely from the claim on the part of Congress or the territorial legislatures to excludn aUvury from the fer ritories, unr from tbc eff rts of different Scales to defeat the execution of the fugittve'slave law. All or any or these evils migot have Deen endured by the Sautb without danger to the Union, (ai others ha been,) in the hope thil time and Tefijction might apply the remedy. Toe imme-diato peril aTies ut so much from these causes as fr.m tbn fact tht lht inOssant and violent azitalion of the slaveVy quesiiou 'broughoat the North fjr th Ust quarter of a eatury, has at leugth produce! its mtliu influence on the BjYd4, aui inipir-sd th)in w.th vaue nouns of freedom, ti-jdce f. sense ot security uj luger exists around the family altar. This feeling o f! peace at home has given place to apprehensions of servile insurrection. Many a matron through-Kjmi the South retires at night hi dread of wbat to aj befall herself and htr children hfare the tnorning. Should this apprehension of dornectic 'danger, whether real or imaginary, extend ai:d iutensify itself until it shall pervade'-1 be masses f the Sonthern people, then disunion will ls ome inevitable-. Self prest-rvatnm is . the first law of natureLand has become implanted iu ih heart of man by hi Creator for ih'e wisest pur-- . pose ; and no political union, ever fraught with blessings and benefits in all other Tepcts, can long continue, if the .necessary consen'icnee .be to l-rtder the homes and th firesides of nearly half the parties to it ha ually and hopelessly inssarfs . Sooner or later the binds of such a Uuion must be severed. It is my conviction that this ftl period bs not yet rrivd y and nj pr yer w (jjd is tht U-s would preserved the Constitution and the Union throughout all f?enralius. Bat let us tike warning in tits, and remove ,ih csuse of diijfer. It cinuot leniol ih, fir Ge au-1-twanty rears, th-aaitatiot at the North against slavery lis Ihe Souib ha baeu iu- - cessanJ..' III 18;. pictorial ; hU(l-jill.. andin-fl-iTOHLtory app-In, Were circulated extensively throutrhout the Siuih.of a. chreter t ex.nte : the pssions of the I:iv?;" a'id, in the lanjuaie of General J.tclts -in, ,-to stinoulatithem to insnr Yeci iu, a'ilprvla :e all the h wrors of a servile war.' This agitation has ever since ben con tinued by the puhlic pres by the proceeding of Slate arrd ownty con ventioni, and by abolition sermons and lectures. The time of C gress has bn accupiod in violent speeches on this never ndfug- sujet; and appeals in pamphlet and -tolher ronns, endorsed by distinguished oaines. j have been sent forth from thi central point, and j . prad broadcast over the Union. J 11 w easy w u!d it We f r the American pen- ,pt to settle the silvery q iestion forever, aad to re-tore peace and harmony t.Tthis distracted r ! "conntry. They, And they Al ine, can do it. AH that is icesry to accomplish the objct. a-.d all for which the slave States have contended, is to he let alone, and Dennitted to manage their dames tic institution V?t their own. way. : . sovereign States, they, and ihey alone, are responsible before G.d and th world f r the slavery existing mmong them. F-r this, the people of the North renot more responsible, and have no more riht to interfere, than with simiiar institutions in R is-AiAoritt TJ-z l- Upon their good sense and patriotic f rle .ranee I confess I still greatly rely. Without their l I. it is beyond the power of any I'reeideut, norm i-ter what may be his own political proclivities. l restore peace and harmony among the Stae. Wisely limited and restrained as is his p'wer, under our C-jnstiiUMon and laws, lie alone can accomplish but little, for good or evil, on such a momentaous question. And ibis brings me to observe that the election t)f any "one of our fellow-citZ',is to the olHoe ot President does norof itsetf affr l just cause for dissolving the Union. This is mre especially Irne if bis election has been effected by a mere plarality, and not a mjo ity. of the people, and fa as resulted from trausint and temporary cnuses, which may probably never again occur. In or der to justify a reT'.lu'ion try resistance, the Fed-oral 0-verum nt rnat b-s guilty of "a deliberate, palpable, and : dan4rerousjexrcise ot powers not granted by the Cnnstitntion. The late prps 1 idential election, how-ver, has been held in strict j conformity with its express provision. How, then, can the result jjsufy a revolution to destroy this wery Constitution ? Rason. j istice. a regard fiw the Constitution, all require that we shall wait for some !overt and dangerous act on tbe p .rt of the President elect before resorting to such a remedy. ' j It is gild, however, that the antecedents of the ' Preatdeit elect have been snfficent to justify the 1 fears of-theSouth that he will attempt to invade! their constitution at rights- But are such apprehensions of contingent danger in lite future sufficient to j'istify the immedate destruction of the Xtoblest system of roverament , ever devised by ; mortals? Front the very natare of hi olflce. . aod Hs high respoaibUities, rann neeesxari y be oonaerrative. The stera doty of administer-In the east and" complicated concerns of this Ooveraownt affords in itself a guarantee that he trill ot attempt T' Tloiattoa ! a clear coosti taiSnaml rivhc AfteT all.-Ho is o wofe than the cbief executive"officer of the Government. Hi province it not to make, hut to execute, ihe Jwj : aad It Is a remarkably fact is onr history, that, notwithstanding the repeated eff irti of the ant clarery party, ao single act has ever pained CW srreai. nn'esa we nay possibly except'the Misaoqri Compromise, Imparlng, In the alightest degree, the righJi of the Sooth to th Ir property irf slaves. And it iriAf Uo be observed, in d gin g froa pr- ' aot iodicatious. that probability existJ f 4he - passage of ch aq " ct, by a msj-wlty of both iloaaes,' either it tba present of tha next Con-ITBSt; v Sorely, ondef tbeM cxreamsUneef , we tughttoba restrained from preseat action by d precept of Him who f paie a aevtr taan spoke, that MnSciat onto tit day la th ttil on- less we shall rashly brijg it upon ourselves, It is alleged as one cans for immediate secession that Ibe. Southern Stares are denied ou' rights with the other States in the com mop Ter ritories. , But by whit authority are these dented? Hot by Congress, which hai nevor passed, aod I believe cever will p tss, any act to eiclude slavery from thSse. Territories j and certaiuly not by the Supreme Court, which has solemnly decided that slaves are property, and, like all other, property, their owners baVe A right to tike theni into the common Territories, and bohl them there under the protection of the Constitution. - So far, then, as Congress is concerned, tti bb-j(cion is not to anything they have already done, but to what they may do hereafter. It wilt surely be admitted that this apprehension of future danger is no ?ood reason for an immediate dissolution of the Union. It is trne that the terri torial legislature of Kansas, on ihe 23d of Febi rasry. 18CU. passed in grewt haste an act, over the veto of the governor, declaring that slavery "is. and shall be, forever prohibited In this Territory." Such an act, however, plainly violating the rights of property secured by the Constitution, will surely be declared void by the judiciary whenever it shall be presented jn a legal form. Only three days after my inauguration the Supreme Court of the United States solemnly adjudged that this power did not exist in a ten i torial legislxtnre. Yet such has been the factious temper of the times that the correctness of this decision has been extensively "impugued before he peopl"-, and the question has given rise to Angry political conflict throughout the country. Thoe who have appe-ilcd from this judgment of ftrt'r highest constitutional tribunal to popular as semTilies would, if they could, invest a territorial legislat ure with power to annul the sacred rights of property. This power Congress is expressly forbidden by the Federal Constitution to exercise. Kvry State legislature in the Union is forbidden by its own constitution to exercise it. It cannot he exrci.ed in any State except by the people in their highes sovereign cap iMty when framing Or amending their Siate constitution. In like manner, it tan only be exercised by the people of a Territory represented in' a convention of dele gaze's for the purpose of framing a coustitnt'on p'reparato'ry to admision as ft Stare inlothe Union. Then, and not till hen a,re . they Invested with power to " decide the q iesrton whether slavery shall or shall not exist within their limits. . This is an act of sovereign authority, and not:of subordinate territorinl legislation. Yere it ctl.er-wise.then indeed would the equality of the States in Ihe Territories be destroyed, and the rights of property . in slaves would depend, not upon the guarantees of the C institution, hut npon the shifting minorities oif 0 irTesfohtrible territorial legislature Such a 'doctrine,. from its intrinsic unoiindness, cannot ling influence any considerable portion' of our people, muchI .teas can it ff ,rd a good reason for a dissolution cf the Union. ': Tbe most palpable violations of cOnstitottonal duty which hav yet committed consist in the act of ditTrent State legislatures: to defeat the execution of the fugitive slave lw. -.-It oug'nV to b remembered, however that for these acts, neither Congress nor any President can justly be h-ld responsible. Having been passed in violation of the Federal Constitution, they are therefore n oil nd void. : All the courts, both State; and national, before whom the. question hs arisen, have from the begining declared thefugitives-slave law to he constitutional." The single exception. is that of a Slate court in Wisconsin and this has not only been reversed by the proper appollate tribunal, but has met with such dni-versal reprobation that there can he no danger from it as a precedent. Toe validity of this law has been established over and over again by the Supremw Court of the United States with perfsct nuni"mity. It is fonnded upon an express pro-vistiin of the Cdusttttst'torv, requiring that fugitive slaves who escape from service iu . one State to another shall be "delivered up' to their masters. Without this provision it is a Well-kuowo histori. cal fnct that the Constitution itself could never have been adopted by the Convention. ; In one firm or other under the .acts of 1793 and 1830, both being substantially the same, the fugitive-slave law has been the law of the lund from the d ys of Wasnington until ihe present moment, .Here., then a clear case is presente ', in which it will oe the duty nt the iext President, as it has n,Tn ow,V 19 BCi w,:" '"rJn xer,,Hnf this SiiDrem" law Against the confi'cting enact ments of Stale legislatures. Should he fail in the performance of this high doty, he will then have manifested a disregard of the Constitution and laws, to the great injury of the people of pearly one-half of the S'ates of the Uoion. But are we to presume in advance that ha will tbna violate his duty ? "- This would be At War with every principle of justice and of Christian charity. Let us wail for the overt act. The fujritive-slave law has b sen carried into execution in eve ry eontested case since the commencement of - the piesent administration ; though often it ie to be regretted with great los and inconvenience to the tuHSter, and with considerable expense to the government'. Let us trust that the State legislatures will repeal their unconstitutional and obi)oKiou8 enactments. Uulrss this shall be do'ie without unnecessary delay, it is i n possible for any human p-iwer to save ttie Union. The Southern S'.ates. standing on the basis of the Constitution, have a right to demand this not of justice from the Slates of the North. Should ii be refused, then the Constitution to which all the States are parties, will have been wilfully violated by one prion of them in a pro-visioa essential to the domestic security and happiness of the remaiirdcr. In that event, the iu jured State3, after having Erst used all peaceful and Constitutional means to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary resistance to tbe Govermu ut of the Uuiou. I have purposely codned my remarks to revo lutionary resistance, because it has bee o claimed within the Uat few years that Any State, whenever this shall be its sovereign will and pleasure; may secede from ihe Union, in accordance with the Coiistit ution, and without any violation of the cousuiiona4 rights of the other members of the Confederacy. That as each became parties to the Union by the vote of its own people assembled in Conveniion, so any oue of them may retire from the Union in a similar manner by tbe vote of such a convention. In order to justify secession as a constitutional remedy it must bt oo the principle, that the Federal Government is a mere voluntary Association of States. tba dis64ved at pleasure by any one of the contracting parties. If this be a, the Confederacy is a rope of sard, to be penetrated and dissolved by the first adverse wave of public opinion in any of tbe States. la . this manner our thirty-three States may resolve themselves 1 n I n . . : 1 I . 1 1.1! ..v ma waj pht, jamAc. aJ-ooauie rrpuunci, each one retiring from the Union, without responsibility, whenever aay suddko excitement might impet them to saeh a Coarse. By Ibis pro cess Union might be entirely broken iota fragments lo few weeks, which coat oof forefathers Many years of toil, privatioa, aad blood 4o establutu ,""--,' ; , - . Saeh pTffpl i woolly !neonsietehVitb tbe history as well as the eharcter of the Federal Constitution. After U was fraas'ed, with the greAteat dIIbrAtioi aad-aara, it was submitted to oareatioot of the. people, of the several States for rallS rat ion. Its provisioea vera discnaabd at length in thesa bodies, com posed of the first men of the ooantry. Its opoaaaU eon tended that it conferred powers epoa th Fadersi Qorsra- ment daogeroas to the rights of the States, whilst its advocates maintained that under a fair construction of the instrument there was no founda tion for such apprehensions. In that might strcg gle between the irat intellects of this or any other country, it never ocenred to anj individual, either among its opponents or advocates, to assert, or even to intimate, that their efforts were all vain labor because the moment that any State felt herself agrieved be might secede from tbe Union: What a crashing argument would this have proved against those who dreaded that the rights of the States wouldjbe endangered by the Constitution. The troth is, that it was not until many years after the origin of the Federal Government that such -a proposition was first advanced. It was then met and . refuted by tbe conclusive arguments of General , Jackson; who in his message of 16 h January, l83o, transmit ting the nullifying ordinance of South. Carolina to Congress, employs tbe following language: "The right of the people of a single State to absolve themselves at will, and without the consent of the other States, from their most solemn obli gations, and hazard the liberty and happiness of the millions composing this Union, cannot he acknowledged. Such authority is believed to be utterly repugnant both to the principles upon which the General Government is constituted and to the objects which it was expressly formed to attain." " It is not pretended that any clause in the Constitution gives countenane to stich A theory. It is altogether founded upon inference, not from any language contained m the instrument itself, but from the sovereign character of the several States by wln'eh it was ratified. But is t beyond the power of a State, like an individual, to yield a portion of its sovereign rights to secure the remainder T in the language of Mr. Madison, who has been called the father of the Constitution t "It was formed by the States that is the people in each of the States acting in their highest sovereign capacity; and formed the State constita-' lions." -. .; .--' Nor is the Government of the United States, created by the Constitution, less a Government in the strict sense of the term, within the sphere of its powers, than the governments created by the constitutions of the 8ates are, wiibio their several spheres. It is, like thern organized into leislative, executive, and judiciary departments.: It . operates, like them, directly on persons and things; and like them, it has at commard a physical force for executing the powers committed toil."- . - r; . It was intended to be perpetual, and not to be at tbe pleasure of any one of tbe contracting parties. The old articles c-f confederation were 'entitled Articles t f C uifedr&tiori aad Psrpet-nal Union between the States and by the IMth article it is rXpressly declared that "that articles of this Confederation shall be inviolablybservt-d, by every Stale, and ihe J.Ttiin shall be perpet-nal," The preamble to the Constitution of ihe United Stales, having express rtft-rence to the' artrCles of Confederation, recites that it was es tablished ''in order to form a more pe.rftCi union." And yet it is contended that this "mora'perlect union " does hot include the edseutial aiinbute of perpetuity. But ibat-ihe Union as designed to be perpetual appears conclusively from tbe nature and extent of the powers conferred by the C institution ou the Federal Governments T1 powers embrace the very highest attributes of national sovereignty. They place both the sword and the purse under its control. Congress has power to make war, and to make peac i to raise aud sup-Kirt armies and navies, and, to conclude treaties with foreign governments. It is invested With the po Wer to win money, and to regulate the value thereof, aud o regulate commerce With foreign nations, and among . the several States. It is not necessary to ehnaierate the other high poWeVs which have been conferred ujon the Federal Government. n order to carry the eiiumeP ated powers into eflfVct, Ciingress possesses the exclusive right to lay and collect iluties on imports, and in common with the States to lay and collect all other faxes-. But tn'e Constitution hAS not only conferred these high powers upon Congress, but it has adopted effect nal means to restrain the States from interfering with their exercise. For that purpose it has, in strong prohibitory language, j expressly declared that "no State shall enter into any treaty, alltanc", or confederation graot letters of marque and reprisal , coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver. coin a tender in payment of debts'; pass Any bill of Attainder, ex pott facta law,or law impairing the obligation of contracts." : Moreover, "without the consent of Congress, no State shall lay any imposts or duties on Any imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws;" and if they exceed this amount, the excess shall belong to the United States. And ' no S'.ate shall, withont the content of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage; keep. troops, or ships of war, in timeXjf peace; oer into any agreement or compact with auother State, or with a foreign power; or engage in war, unless actually invnded. or in such imminent danger as will not admit t f delay." : n order still further to secure the nninterrup ted execise of these high powers against Stste in-terposiiioni it is provided "that this Cimstitutioti and the laws of trie United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof ; and all treat es made, or which the authority of the United Slates shall be the supreme law of the : land ; and the judges in every State shall be hound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any Siate to the contrary notwithstanding." - The solemn sanction of j-elig-ion has been superadded to the obligations of official duty, and all senators and representatives of the United Slates, all members of Stte legislatures and alt executive and judicial offii-ers. "both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or flirmaitoo to support this Con stitution. : fu onler to carry Into effect these powers, the Constitution has established a; perfect Grn-ment in all its forms. Legislative, Executive, and Judicial ; and this fJuverntiient to ihe extent of ts powers, acts directly npon the individual ciit tens of every Statej and tiecntea its own decrees by the agency of its ps tfBeers. In this respect it differs entirely from lie Government ttodeif the old Confederation, which waa confined to making requisitions on tie States in their sovereign character . This left it in . the discre tion of each whether to obey or to refuse, and they often declined to comply with such requisitions. It thus became necessary, for the purpose of removing this barrier, and "in order to form a mare perfect Union, to. establish a Gov-eroraent which could act directly . npon the pw pie. And sxeeute lis own laws without tbe tstei" mediate agency of the States. This hai been accomplished by the Coosti tation of th United Stata. : ' : ; la ahnrt-ina Government treated hf 1vCon stitaiion, and deriving iu Authority fronjthftsot reign people of each of tba several Btatea, as precuely tho same right, to exercise, its power o r the people of ll these States, Irt tb enomeR ated. cases, that each one of them 'possesses oaer sobjeeu not delegated to the States respectivsly or to tbe people." - ' ' ?1 Z'J ' i-. ;rTft the extent of the delegated power the Con. stifution of the TJoited.St U a mech part of the constitution of eAch State, and . Is as. bind ing epoa its people, a dough it Laa txea lex tnaMw inaertAd therela. This GoTerntneBt, therefore, U a greAtod powerful Government, invested - with all the at tnbnteef io'vereignty 9er theNpeclal subjecU to which its authority extends t Its framers eev-er intended to implant iejU bosom this seeds of its own destruction, nor were tley it its creation guilty of the absurdity of providing for its own dissolution. It was not ii?ten3e by its framers to be the baseless fabric of a vision which, at the touch of the enchanter, would Evanish into thin Air, but a substantial and mighty fabr'c, capable of resisting the alow decay of time and of defying the storms Of ages. Indeed, well may the jealous patriots of that day have indulged fears that a government of such high powers , might violate the reserved rights of the States, and wise iy did they adopt the rule of a strict construction of these powers to prevent the daogerl But they did hot fear, nor had they any reason to imagine, that the Constitution would ever be so in1 terpreted as to enable any State, by her own act, and without the consent of ber sister Stales, to discharge her people from all or any of their Fedetal bbligatiotiB, ; ..; , . . It may be asked, then, are the people of the States without redress against the tyranny And oppression of the Federal Government? By no means. The right of resistance oh tbe part of tbe governed against the oppression of their governments cannot be denied. It exists independently of all constitutions, and has been exercised at all periods of the . world's butory. . Uoder. it old governments have Been destroyed, and hew ones have taken their place. It , is embodied in strong and express language in eur own Declaration of Independence. But. the distinction must ever be observed, that thi4 Is revolution a-gainst an establUbed Government, and not a voluntary secession from it by virtue of an inherent constitutional right. In short, let us look the danger fairly in the face: Secession is neither more nor less than revolution. It ma of it may not be justifiable revolution, boi still it is revola tion. : . -- What, in the mean time, id the responsibility and true position of the executive? He is bound by solemn oath before God And the country "to take care that tbe laws be faithfully executed," and from this obligation Ve cannot be absolved by any human power. But what if the performance of this duty, in whole tir in part, has been rendered impracticable by events over which he could have exercised uo control? Such, at the present moment, is the case tbronghout the State of South Carolina, so far as the laws of the U. S. to secure the administratioa of justice by means of the Federal Judiciary Are concerned: Alt the Federal ofScers within its limits, through whose agency alone these laws can be carried into execution, have already resigned. . We no longer have a d strict judge, a district attorney, or marshal, iu Souih Carolina. In fact, the whole maohitiery of the Federal Government, necessary for the distribution of remedial justice among the people, has been demolished; and it rould be very difficult, if not impossible, io .replace it. The only acts of Congress On the statute-hoik. tearing upon this snl ject. are those of the 28th Februar-, 1795. and 3d March, IH07. These authoriz the President, after he shall have as. certaii.ed that the marshal with his posse comila tits is unable to execute civil or criminal proees-i in any particular case, to call forth the militia and employ the arm aud navy to aid him in performing this service, having first by Proclama tion com manded the 'insurgents "to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes, within a Jhmted time. -This doty ftutuot bv poesi bility be performed in a State where no judicial authority exists to issue pro :ess.'and where there is no marshal to execute it. and where, even if there were snch an officer, the entire population would constitute one solid combination to esist him. v The bare enumeration of these provisions proves how inadequate they are withm t farther legislation to overcome a united opposition to a single State, not to speak of other States who may place themselves in a similar attitude. Con g res A alone has power to decide whether the present laws can or cannot be amended so as to carry nut more effectually tbe objects of the Consti tution. The same insuperable obstacles do not lie in the way of executing the. laws fur the collection of the customs'. Tbe revenue still continues to be collected, as heretofore, at the custom house in Charleston; and should the collector uufortu nately resign, a successor may be appointed to Perform this duty. Then In regard to the properly of the United States In South Carolina. This has been purchased for a fair equivalent, by the consent of the legislature of tbe Stale," "for the erection of farts, magazines, arsenals,"4c., and Over these the authority "to exercise exclusive legislation" has been expressly granted by the Constitution to Congress-. - It is not believed that any attempt will be made to expel the United States from this property by force; but if in this I should prove to be mistaken, the officer in command of the forts has received 'orders to act strictly on the defensive, in sucu a contingency, the responsibility for consequences would rightfully rest upon the heads of the," assailants. Apart frOm the execution of the laws, so far as thVs may be practicable, the Executive has no authority to decide what shall be the relations between the federal government arid South Carolina. He has been invested with nd such discre: tion. He possesses no power to change the re lations heretoftre existing between them, much less to af knowledge the independence of that Stat . This would be trf Invest A mere Executive officer with the power of recognizng t- dissolution of the Confederacy among ocr thirty three soveteign States. Ii bears no resemblance to the recognition of a foreign fe facto government, involving no: such responsibitity. Any attempt to do this would, ou his part, be a naked act of usurpation. It is, therefore, my dutv to submit to Cnk?ress the whole nnestion in all i" j bearings. The course of events is so rapidly UH9,CUI,-K A-'&WBk.U. .UW. w . lit. "K ...... . . arise, when yt'u may be called upon to decide the momentous question whether yoa posaess the power, by force tf arms, to compel a S'8-'1 0 W mm AMnM . 'immA lK. I , Vl A .M.,.,annV mt I Mnn remain in the Union. I should feel myself re creant to my duty were I not to express an opto ion on this important sotject. The question lairlv stated is: Haa the-Consti lotion delegated to Congress the power to coerce a State info submission which is attempting to wiihdraw or has actually withdrawn from the Con fedefacjf If answered in the affirmative, it must be on the principle that the power las been conferred npon Congress to declare and to make war against a State. After ranch serious reflection. I have arrived At the conclusion that no such power has been .delegated to Congress or to any other department of the federal Governments-It is manifest, upon An Tnspectioa of the Constitution, that this is Hot amOng th specific and enumeratrd powers granted to Congress; And It is equally apDarent that its exercise is not "bee essary and proper.for cArrying InW exeeillion any one of these powers. So far from this pow ef having betri detegated to Coogrert.it was e pressiy refused by the contention which Tr Anted the Constitntion. '" ' " j It atjpeara, from the proceedings oTihAtbody. tbAl on tbeIst May, 1787. the clans "auiuor teiny etertioi fiftiufarce of the 6ho7e agtUiut a d?linplen( .Slate . cm9 op for consideration. Mr: Madison opposed it in a brief bat powerful speech fro'tn which I shall extract bat A single sentence. MIe cbservedr -i.?Tho nse of . force 1 gainst a Stale would look to ore Use a declaration of war than an ioiction of punishment; and would probably be considered by the perty At tacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by which it might be bound." Upon his motion the clause was uoanimoualy postponed and wasJ never, xf oeuvve, again presented. kOn afterwards, on the 8ib June, IT 87, when incidentally adverting to the subject, hesaidr "Any Qovt-ra inent Tor the United States, foraied on the sop-posed practicability of using force against tbe unconsUtptional proceedings of the Statss would prove ai visionary and fallacious as. tbe government of Congress," evidectly meaning' the then existing Congress of the old Confederation. , Without descending to particulars, it may be safely asserted, that the power to make war a. gainst a State is at variance with the whole spirit and intent of the Constitution. . Suppose each a war should result in the conquest of a State, bow are we to govern it afterwards? Shall we hold it as a province, and govern it by despotic power? In the nature of things we could not, by physical force, control the will cf tbe people, and compel them to elect senators And represen tativesto Congress, And to perform all the other duties depending upon their own volition, and required from the free citizens of a free State as a constituent member of the Confederacy. But. if we possessed this power, woold it be wise to exercise it .under existing circumstances? The ohject would doubtless be to preserve the Union. War would not obly present the most effectnal means of destroying it; but would banish all. hope of its peaceable reconstruction. Besides, in the fraternal conflict a vast amount tf blood and treasure would be expended, rendering future reconciliation between the States itf.poBaible. In the mean time, who can foretell hat would be tbe sufferings and privations of the people diirinjg its existence? The fact is, that our Union rests npon public opinion, and can never bVcementiul by the Mood of its citizens shed in civil war. . If it cannot live in ihe affections of the people, it must oue day perish'. Cengres possesses ma,ny means of preserving It bj .eonciii:ittou; bot the. sword vrss hoi placed in iheir hand to preserve It by foree... : But nay Ibe perm lie solemnly to invokei thy eounlrymen to pause and. ileliV.eraie, before they determine to destroy this, the : grandest temple which has ever ben deoicated to b'umafi freedom since the world beg,n! It baa bean conseortd by the blood of our fathers, by the glories of. the iitst. and by the hopes of the future The Union ins already niad us the most prospetoua and, ere loug, will, II preserve!, render us the most powerful nation on the face of ttTe earth -In every foreign regiod of the globe the title of Amerieaa citlsen is hefd in the highest revpeel, and when pronoonred f h a foreign land it causes the hrt of our countrymen to swall wfth honel pride. Surely when we reach the brink .of the yawning abyss, we shall recoil with horror from the. Issi fa-lnl plunge. By such a dread catastrophe the hopes of the friends of freedom throughout tha world Would be destroyed, nrid a long night of leaden des-petism would enshroud the nitiona, Our eaaro-ple f r more than eighty years would not only be lost; bat il wouM be qnoted as a conclusive proof that mao 1 uufit for olf goveroment. It I iiot every wrong nay, H is not every grievous wrong which eau justify a resort to snch a fearful alternative. This ought to be the last desperate sem'ed y of a despairing people, after every other cotisliiutiou&l meaosf conciliivtiou had been exhaateJ. Wo should refl-ct that under this free Govrromeut tkere is an iucesaaut ebb and flow ia public opinion. Th slavery qxstiou,like everything human, will have its nay. I firmly believe that it baa already reached and passed the culminating polut. But if, Iu the midst of ths existing excitement, the Uoiod shall perish, the evil may than become irrepantble, Congress cab contribute much to avert it by proposing and recom'moud-iug to the legislature of the aeveral Slaa the remedy for existing -, which the Constitution has itself provided fur its own preservation, This has been tried at different critical periods of our history, aud alwaj a with. eminent sueeeaa. It U to be found in the 5th article providing for IU own amendmeut- Under this article amendments have bean proposed by two-thirds of both hoaaea of Congress, and have been rati5e5 by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several Slates," and have consequently become parts of the Constitution To this prooess the couutry is indebted tor the clause prohibiting Congress from passing anv. law reKpecting aa etab!ihmeut of religion, or bri-g!ng the freedom of speech or of the press, or of iho right of petition. To thia we are, also indepted for the Bill of Rights, which secarea the people against any abuse of power by the Federal Government, feuoh were the apprehensions jnsU ly entertained y the friends of Stat riefjU at that period as to have rendered it extremely doubtful whether the Const itutlon could hare long surviv ed without theae araeudoienta. - Again, the Coustttutioo was amended by th'e same process afier the election of President Jeffer-sort by the House of Representative, la February ltfD4. .This amendment was rendered neceaaaiy oi preven'a recutrence of the dangers which hai se riously tnteaieoed tbe existence of tne uovern-ment during the pendency of that election. The article for its own amendment was iotended lo secure lha amioable adjustment of conflicting - eon-sliluouef o,uations like tbe preaent, which might ariae between the governments of ibe Stale aod tht of the Uuited Slates. This appears from conteuiporaneoua history. In connection, I ahull merely call attention to a few aenieneea Ii Mr. MaJion's justly-celebrated report, in 1793, to tli legislature bf Virginia. In this be ably aud conclusively defended tbe reeolulious of the preceding legtalature. against the slricturee of eeveral ether State irgialatiire. Theae were mtinly fonaded , bpou h pro teat of tbe VirgihU legislature against tbe M Alien and Sedition Acta' aa "palpable and a'armiug infrsetlon of the Constitution." Ia potaUdg Odt the teaceful and constitutional rem eotei, and lie referred to none other, to whl-h the. 5 la tea were authorized to rort no such occasions he eoneludea by aayie.r, "thut the leg'ialitturea of the Slate might have made a 1-reet repreeentatioa 10 Coilgrti? wttH A Vl.-w to obtain a rescinding of ibe tweotTeualve acta; or they mihl havj r." prose Died to their re pec five aenatora in Congrea their wish that t woe thirda thereof Wou'd propose an rxplxtifftary amendment to the Conalito-ion, or two-thirds of themaelfei, If snch had been their optiou, might, by an application to CosgreM, have obtained, a cooveniioa for tne same object."-This la the very edUrse which I eat neatly recommend in order to.obtaid td expUnatory amenl-inent" of the Constitution on the Subject of )ay-ery. This mightoriglnaie wi'h Cngre or the Sute legislature, as may be deemed most advisable to attaiullie object. The explanatory ArBettdment might be cenfiaed to the fiaal Mttletneal of the I rue construction of th Couxtitulion on three epecial poi nU: 1. An exprea recognition of th right of property ia slave in. the Sute where it nuw exUU or may hereafter exist.". 2. The duty of protecting this rtht in All the common Terri lorlea llirodghont their- territorial existence, abd until they shall be admitted avSute into the Uuioo withTor without slavery, aa their onstilutiOH may preecribe. 3. A like recognilion of the right 8f the master te have hia stave, who ha escaped from one Stat to another, restored and "delivered up" to htm, and of the validity r tha fagitive-alav la enacted for this purpose, together with a declaration that all Sute laws Impairing or defeating this tight are violations of the ConstJtalion, and Ate eonscqoeDtly null and void. It may be objected that this construction of the Const itntfon has Already been settled by the Sopreme Cotrft of the United States, and what mora" doitt io be required?' The answer is. that si very large proportion of tbe people' of the 0. S. still cos test the' correctness of thU decision. and never vriH cesrae frota agitation and admit its binding fwrce antil rUirly esubliibtd by the people Cf the aeveral States ta' thei Acvereia chars ctef". , Snch n rxp'io atory amend meo t Wcfhld, it i balieved, forevar terminate tbe ei istln'i dissensions and revere '(e&ce tad tirao-ey am on if the utci, - .- - - r It ought not to ba dontttd that snch as Appeal to tha AUUAT7rt esubUsbed by the Ccnstltn tion itself woold be received with favor by all the States of the Confederacy. Ia any event it ought to be tried ia a spirit of conciliation before any of these States shall separate themselves from the Union. When I entered npon the duties of the presidential office, the aspect neither of our foreign nor domestic affairs was At all satisfactory! We were involved in dangerous complications with several nations, and two of our .Territories, were ia a stale of revolution against the Government-A restoration of the African slave trade had numerous And powerful advocate. Unlawful military expeditions were countenanced by many of our citizens, and were suffered, in defiance of the efforts of the Goverumeut, to escape from our shores, for the purpose of making war upon the unoffending people of neighboring republics with whom we were at peace. In addition to these and other difficulties, we experienced a revulsion in monetary effairs, soon after my advent to power, of unexampled severity and of ruinous consequences to all the' great interests of the country. Wjen ne take a retrospect of what was then our condition and contrast this with its material prosperity at the time of the late presidential election, we have abundant reason to return our grateful thanks to that" merciful Providence which has never forsaken us as a nation io all our past trials. - OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. GKF.AT B1UTAIX. Our relations with Great Britain are of the most friendly character. Since the commence' ment of my administration, the two dangerous questions, arising from the Clayton aud Bui wer Teaty and from the right of search claimed by ihe Briji-h govern ment j have been amicably and honorably adjusted. The discordant constructions of the C'nyton and Bulwer treaty between the two governments which, at different periods of the discussion, bore a threatening aspect, have resulted in a Goal tet-tleoient entirely satis-factory to this Government. In my last annual m-ssage I informed Congress that the British government r.adTtot then -com pleted treaty arrangements with the repuMiej f.f j Honduras and Nicaragua, in pursuance o the understanding beitceen the two governments. It is nevertheless confidently expected that this good work w;ll ere long be accomplished." This confident expectation has ririce been fulfilled. Her Britauic Mrj-iy concluded a treaty with Honduras on the 2!th Novemb-n-. 1 859. and with Nicaragua on the 28th August, I860. relinqu:sh ing the M-q jit protectorate. Besides, by the former, the Bay Islands are recognised as a part of ihe republic of Honduras. It may bs observed that the stipulation of these treaties confi-rm in every important particular to the amendments adopted by the Senate of the United States to the treaty eof-cloded at Loudon on the 17th Oc-uber, 18J6. between the two government. It will be rec-!iecied that this Ireaty was rejected by the Br ."&h government because of its objection to tbe just and important amendmentof the Senate to tbe article relating to Ruatan and tbe other islands in Bay of Honduras. It roust be a source of sincere satisfaction to all classes of our fellow-citizens, and especially to tboae enraged in foreign commerce, lhat tbe claim, on tbe part of Great Britain, forcibly to visit and search American merchant vessels on the high seas in time of peare, has been abani doaed; This was by far the mott dangerous question to the peace of the two countries which ha existed iince the war of 1812. Whilst it re-maioed open, tney might at an? moment have been precipitated into a war. This was rendered manifest by the exasperated state of public feeling tbronghout our entire country, produced by the forcible search of American merchant vessels by BritUb cruisers on the coast of Cuba, io tbe spring of 185'S. The A merican people hailed with general acclaim the orders of the Secretary of the Navy to our naval force in the Gulf of "Mexico.: 'to protect all vessels of the United States oh the high seas from search or j detention- by the vessels-iof-war ot any other na- tion." These orders might have produced an immediate collision between ibe naval forces of tbe two countries. This was most fortunately prevented by an appeal to tbe justice of Great Britain and to the law of natious as expounded by her own most eminent jurists'. The only question of any importance which still remains open is the disputed title between the wo government to' the inland of San Juan in the vicinity of Washington Territory. As thi question is still under negotiation, it ia not deemed advisable at the present moment to make anv other allusion to the subject. The recent visit of the Prince of Wales, in a private character, to the people of this country, has proved to be a most auspicious event. In its consetjnences, it cannot fail to increase the kindred and kindly feelings which I trust may ever actuate the government and people of fco'h countries in their political and social intercoarse with each other. ; faaxce. With France', our ancient And1 powerful ally, ocr relations continue io be of the most friendly character. A decision has recently been made b. a Frerch judicial tribunal, with the approbation of the Imperial G overnment, which cannot fail to foster the sentiments of mutual " regard that have no long -existed between the two countries. Under the French law no person can erve in the armies of France unless be be a t rench citizen. The law of France recognt ing the natural right of expatriatior.; it fot'ows as a necessary consequence that a Frenchman, hy the fact of bavier become a citizen of ihe United Stales, has changed his allegiance and baa lost his native character. . : He eannot, there-f re, be compelled to serve In the French armies in case be should return to bis native country. Theae principles were announced in 1852 by the French Minister of War. and ia two late cases have been confirmed by ibe French judiciary. In thesa, two rat's of France have been discharged from the Frenc h ermy because they had become Amerieau citizens. To employ the lan guage i)f our preietlt rfaiuister to France, who has rendred good service ott this A-raion; ! do not think oor French naturalized fellowiti-zens will hereafter experience muf-h annoyance on this subject, I venture to predict that the time is not far distant when the other continental powers will adopt the same Wise and just nolicy which has done so mnch honor to the enlightened government of the Emperor. In any event, oar Govern mer.t is bound to protect the rights of oor naturalised , citixens everywhere to the same extent AS though they had drawn their first breath ia this country. We can reoognu no distinction between our native aud naturalized ciuxans. : kcajiI. . . - Between the gee at empire of Xtassia and the United Stetes tbe mutual friendship and regard which has so loot existed still contToaee io prevail. Aod, i- poeslble. to increase. Indeed, our relattobt with that Empire axe all tlal we could desire. r " J .V,- Irltir. -' ' - ' Oor reTat'ons with Spain are now of nlofe complicated though less 'dangerous carActer thAn tbey bate been for mant years, ur iu. zens have long held, and eontiane to boldi merons claims ageinst tha Spanish gofernmest. Thesa had teen aUy urged for a eeris of years Hy rur saecessive diploraatie represenUl.ves at llaJrid,' but. without obtaining redress. Tbe Span-ib govemmeat finally agreea so foe tha adjustment xf these io.at Ci-imia&i on claims, and oa the 6th day of ilarch, 18C0. oon- ei eowventooa tor taw pvna v present miaister at Madrid. Under this convent lion, what have been denominated Hhe Csbai claims,' amouutipg to $128,635 and fii eenti in. which more than one hundred of our fellow citizens are interested, were recognized, and the Spanish government agreed to pay flOO.CQJ of this amount wilhin three months following tbe exchange of raiiSeations.' The payment of the remaining $29,635 54 was to await the de' cision of the commissioners for or agaiosf'lhe Amistad claim " but in any event the balance was to ba paid to the claimants either by Spaio or the United States. These terms I have every reason to linow are highly sal is Factory to the holders of the Cuban claims- ludeed, they have made a formal offer authorizing the State Department to settle these claims, - and to deduct ibe amount of ths Amistad claim from the sums which they are entitled to receive from Spain. This offer, of course, cannot be accepted. , All other claims of citizens bf the United Stales against Spain, or of subjects of tbe Queer! of ispaina. gainst the United Slates, including the "Amistad claim," were by this convention refeis red to a board of commissioners in tbe usual form. . Neither the validity of the Amistad claim nor of any other claim agait st either party, with tbe single exception or the Cuban claims, was recognized- by the convention. Indeed, the Spanish government did not insist that the valid ity of the Amistad claim should be thus recog n'ued, notwithstanding its pajmeut hid beed reconmeu9fcd to - Congress by two of my prede-' cessors as well as myself, and an appfopriatio!! for that purpose had passed tbe Senate of the . United States. They were content that it should be submitted to the board for examination And decirion, like the oiher claims.. Both govern' ubents were bound respeotively to pay thd amounts awarded to the several claimants .! suvh times and places as may be fixed by and according to the teuor of said awards.'' I transmitted this convection to the enatS lor iheir constitutional action on tLe 3d May) 1 &G0, and oa the 27th ci the succeeding Jur.e they determined that they would "not advise and consent to its rntiucation. These proceedings place our relations wita Spain in au Awkwatd and embarrassing posi' tion. It is more than probable thai the final adjustment of these claims Will devolve epos my successor. . I reiterate tbe recommendation contained I'd my Annual Message of December, 1&8, and re' peated iu tLitt of December, 1859, in favor of the acquisition of Cuba from Spain by fair pur chase. I firmly behove that snch an . acquiai (ion would contribute essentially to the well-be ing and prosperity of both cooutries io all fatura time, as wed as prove tbe certain means of im meidately abolishing tbe Afiican slave-trade throughout tbe woild. I would not repeat this recommendation upon the present occasion, if I believed that the transfer of Cuba to tba United ".THte, upon conditions' highly favorable to Spain, c-ou d justly tarnish the national honor of the proud and ancient Span'ub Monarchy. Sure ly no person ever Attributed to the first Xapole on a disregard of the national honor of France, fur transferring Louisiana to tbe United StateA tor a fair equivaleut both ia money and eOmmsr clal Advantages : itSTBlA, AC, With the Emperor of Austria, and the remain log contimental powers of Europe, including that of the Saltan, our relations coutmue to the moat ftiendiy charaetcf, CBliri. , , : . The friendly and peaevful by the Govern ttet. I of the United States towards the empire of China has produced ihe most satisfactory results. The treaty of Tientsin of the 18th of June, 163, has been faithfully observed by the Chinese sc ihorities. The convention of the 6th November 1838, supplementary to this treaty,, for the ad' jusiment and satis fac lio t of tbeclaims of ouf t-iiizsiis of China, referred to in my last Annual Message, has been already curried into effect, so far as this was practicable. ; Under this convention the torn of 500,000 taeU, equal to about $700, 0U0, was stipulated td-be p'lid in satisfaction of the claims of Ameri' can citizens, out.of the one-fifth of tbe receipts for tonnage import, and export duties on Amer ican vessels at the ports of Canton, Shanghacj and Fuchau and it was "agreed that this a mount shall be in full liquidation of all claims of American citizebs at the various ports to this' date," Debentures for this amouut to wit I .300.000 trrU for Canton, 100 OuO Shanghae.aod 100 000 forFuehtu were delivered accordicg' to the terms of the convention by tbe respective Chioese collectors of the customs of these porta to the agent selected by our minister to receive the same - Since that time tbe claims of our citizens have? been adjusted by the board of commissioner p." pointed for that purpose under the act of March 3, 1859. and their awards, which proved satis-' factory to the claimants, have been approved bf our minister. In Ibe the aggregate they arooucf to the sam of $493,694,78. The claimants have! already received a large proportion of the same awarded to them out of the fund provided, and it is confidently expected that the remainder wilt ere long be entirely paid. Afer the awards shall have been satisfied, there will remain a sur; plus of more than $200,000 at tbe dispositioo of Congress. As this will inequity belong to the Chinese government, would not justice require i'.s 'appropriation lo so tne bene.Unt otjeet ia. which the Chinese may be socially, intereated f Our minister to Chii.a. in obedience to his in stru lions, has remain- d perfectly neutral ia tbe wr iiftwten Great Brittin and France and the Chinese empire ; although, in conjunction ; with, the Ru-eiab minister, be was ever n-ndy and wiL ing. had the opportunity offered, to employ hie good offices iu re s tori i . peace between the par ties. It Is but an act of simple jualire, both to our present minister and his predecessors, tj slate, that, they have proved fully equal to . the) delicate, trying, and responsible positions ioi which tbey have on different occasions been pla( ced. ' - . The ratifications of the treats- with Japan con) eluded at Yedoon the 29tb July. 1R5B, were ei chacged at Washington on the 221 May laat,aad tbe treaty iUelf was procfaimed on the succeed iog day. There is good reason to expect thati under its protection and t&flaecce, our trade ana intercourse iih thAt distant and interestlog peo pie will rapidly Iscrea). The ratifications of the treaty were exchsDgedl with nnosual Aolemaity. For hie purpoaa the? Tycoon hadccfeditfed three diatia guished subject ai enoyi extraordioAfy an$ ministers plenipotentiary, who wero recervedaa treated with r marked diUction end kindneeej both by tha Government Aod peoplA of th UaW ted States. There U very reason to Ulievej thiXihef fcafe returned to their native land en-' tJrely AatiiSed with their visit, and l.'-sreJ by the most frieadly feelings for out ec-iry: bsf us ardently hop, ia the lanane cf tbe tf jiif iUeIC that "there shall heoCefcrwari be pcf ;et4 ai peace and frieud.hijj betweeatLe United Stares of America and his tlsjsstj tie Tjcaonr of Japan and bis successor i: ' saazii. ' tilV the wise, conservative, and HUrs-I rcw erementofthe etapire tf Erttil ocr r'.A:ione-Continue Id be tT.ihe m'bst AmicaV. J 'i&s.ilzx' ' " ; itv caiTAOA -" . TKeexeiAgeofthrAtiSct:.a w:: (" n-paUie ef New Granada, ilrr 1 At TTt : on the lOib SptBnbr 1-7 ll l;"x l: delayed front Accidental ctasea, foe m'-U'j

win j V7 r . V 1 II 1 f. l I If I L I fl " I r - I II I -I I i CO a VOLUME XXIV. MOUNT VERNON DECEMBER 18, 1860. NUMBER 35. ,.-vs&Sr if' Ihe ffi- JieHoi) fiebloetic Snf is puBLrs vcd xVssr rtrfcshAV: Mbaxixe, DY 1. UAlUfJBtl. V' fflc la TVViitfAfJTBlbcki Tixiia tfar TERMS T 4ollarspr annum, payable in sd-Vane; $2,50 witaln six months; f 3,00 after the ex- fatida at the year Clubs of twenty, $1,50 each. " waBBwaBaBBBBWJBBaaBaawaaaaBaBBteBBBaaMeaaaawaaaeBBeaaaB PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. i'cUoto-citixcn of the Senate and llousc of Representatives; Thrdifrhont the year since our last meeting. lift tduutry hai beta eminently prosperous in Gallics raaterUl interests. Toe geoeral health bjia beeoexe'!'ieut, our harvests have been wbuudau I, aad plenty 8m ilea throughout the land. Oar oommjres and manufactures . have been proseeated witli energy and industry, aod have yielded fair and ample return.' fa short, dj nation in the tide of time has ever preseoted a peciacle of greater material prosperity than i 1iare done ntH within a ry tecent period. Why is it, the, that discontent now so ex. ten lively prevails, and the Union of the State, irhicu is the source of all these blessings, is threatened with destruction ? The Iong'coutiu oed and intemperate interference of the North: era people with the question ot slavery in the Southern States has at 4engtb produced UK nat-'oral -Tct3. The difereTit sections of the Uuion aie now arrayed against enth uthet, and the .time ha arrived, sojnuch dreaded Hy the Father "of his 0 U'itry, when hostile gear ipbical parties havbn hftne. I hav lon'tarseen and often Torewarued my touuttymeii of the now impeud-ihjf danger. This dues not prucet-d tritely from the claim on the part of Congress or the territorial legislatures to excludn aUvury from the fer ritories, unr from tbc eff rts of different Scales to defeat the execution of the fugittve'slave law. All or any or these evils migot have Deen endured by the Sautb without danger to the Union, (ai others ha been,) in the hope thil time and Tefijction might apply the remedy. Toe imme-diato peril aTies ut so much from these causes as fr.m tbn fact tht lht inOssant and violent azitalion of the slaveVy quesiiou 'broughoat the North fjr th Ust quarter of a eatury, has at leugth produce! its mtliu influence on the BjYd4, aui inipir-sd th)in w.th vaue nouns of freedom, ti-jdce f. sense ot security uj luger exists around the family altar. This feeling o f! peace at home has given place to apprehensions of servile insurrection. Many a matron through-Kjmi the South retires at night hi dread of wbat to aj befall herself and htr children hfare the tnorning. Should this apprehension of dornectic 'danger, whether real or imaginary, extend ai:d iutensify itself until it shall pervade'-1 be masses f the Sonthern people, then disunion will ls ome inevitable-. Self prest-rvatnm is . the first law of natureLand has become implanted iu ih heart of man by hi Creator for ih'e wisest pur-- . pose ; and no political union, ever fraught with blessings and benefits in all other Tepcts, can long continue, if the .necessary consen'icnee .be to l-rtder the homes and th firesides of nearly half the parties to it ha ually and hopelessly inssarfs . Sooner or later the binds of such a Uuion must be severed. It is my conviction that this ftl period bs not yet rrivd y and nj pr yer w (jjd is tht U-s would preserved the Constitution and the Union throughout all f?enralius. Bat let us tike warning in tits, and remove ,ih csuse of diijfer. It cinuot leniol ih, fir Ge au-1-twanty rears, th-aaitatiot at the North against slavery lis Ihe Souib ha baeu iu- - cessanJ..' III 18;. pictorial ; hU(l-jill.. andin-fl-iTOHLtory app-In, Were circulated extensively throutrhout the Siuih.of a. chreter t ex.nte : the pssions of the I:iv?;" a'id, in the lanjuaie of General J.tclts -in, ,-to stinoulatithem to insnr Yeci iu, a'ilprvla :e all the h wrors of a servile war.' This agitation has ever since ben con tinued by the puhlic pres by the proceeding of Slate arrd ownty con ventioni, and by abolition sermons and lectures. The time of C gress has bn accupiod in violent speeches on this never ndfug- sujet; and appeals in pamphlet and -tolher ronns, endorsed by distinguished oaines. j have been sent forth from thi central point, and j . prad broadcast over the Union. J 11 w easy w u!d it We f r the American pen- ,pt to settle the silvery q iestion forever, aad to re-tore peace and harmony t.Tthis distracted r ! "conntry. They, And they Al ine, can do it. AH that is icesry to accomplish the objct. a-.d all for which the slave States have contended, is to he let alone, and Dennitted to manage their dames tic institution V?t their own. way. : . sovereign States, they, and ihey alone, are responsible before G.d and th world f r the slavery existing mmong them. F-r this, the people of the North renot more responsible, and have no more riht to interfere, than with simiiar institutions in R is-AiAoritt TJ-z l- Upon their good sense and patriotic f rle .ranee I confess I still greatly rely. Without their l I. it is beyond the power of any I'reeideut, norm i-ter what may be his own political proclivities. l restore peace and harmony among the Stae. Wisely limited and restrained as is his p'wer, under our C-jnstiiUMon and laws, lie alone can accomplish but little, for good or evil, on such a momentaous question. And ibis brings me to observe that the election t)f any "one of our fellow-citZ',is to the olHoe ot President does norof itsetf affr l just cause for dissolving the Union. This is mre especially Irne if bis election has been effected by a mere plarality, and not a mjo ity. of the people, and fa as resulted from trausint and temporary cnuses, which may probably never again occur. In or der to justify a reT'.lu'ion try resistance, the Fed-oral 0-verum nt rnat b-s guilty of "a deliberate, palpable, and : dan4rerousjexrcise ot powers not granted by the Cnnstitntion. The late prps 1 idential election, how-ver, has been held in strict j conformity with its express provision. How, then, can the result jjsufy a revolution to destroy this wery Constitution ? Rason. j istice. a regard fiw the Constitution, all require that we shall wait for some !overt and dangerous act on tbe p .rt of the President elect before resorting to such a remedy. ' j It is gild, however, that the antecedents of the ' Preatdeit elect have been snfficent to justify the 1 fears of-theSouth that he will attempt to invade! their constitution at rights- But are such apprehensions of contingent danger in lite future sufficient to j'istify the immedate destruction of the Xtoblest system of roverament , ever devised by ; mortals? Front the very natare of hi olflce. . aod Hs high respoaibUities, rann neeesxari y be oonaerrative. The stera doty of administer-In the east and" complicated concerns of this Ooveraownt affords in itself a guarantee that he trill ot attempt T' Tloiattoa ! a clear coosti taiSnaml rivhc AfteT all.-Ho is o wofe than the cbief executive"officer of the Government. Hi province it not to make, hut to execute, ihe Jwj : aad It Is a remarkably fact is onr history, that, notwithstanding the repeated eff irti of the ant clarery party, ao single act has ever pained CW srreai. nn'esa we nay possibly except'the Misaoqri Compromise, Imparlng, In the alightest degree, the righJi of the Sooth to th Ir property irf slaves. And it iriAf Uo be observed, in d gin g froa pr- ' aot iodicatious. that probability existJ f 4he - passage of ch aq " ct, by a msj-wlty of both iloaaes,' either it tba present of tha next Con-ITBSt; v Sorely, ondef tbeM cxreamsUneef , we tughttoba restrained from preseat action by d precept of Him who f paie a aevtr taan spoke, that MnSciat onto tit day la th ttil on- less we shall rashly brijg it upon ourselves, It is alleged as one cans for immediate secession that Ibe. Southern Stares are denied ou' rights with the other States in the com mop Ter ritories. , But by whit authority are these dented? Hot by Congress, which hai nevor passed, aod I believe cever will p tss, any act to eiclude slavery from thSse. Territories j and certaiuly not by the Supreme Court, which has solemnly decided that slaves are property, and, like all other, property, their owners baVe A right to tike theni into the common Territories, and bohl them there under the protection of the Constitution. - So far, then, as Congress is concerned, tti bb-j(cion is not to anything they have already done, but to what they may do hereafter. It wilt surely be admitted that this apprehension of future danger is no ?ood reason for an immediate dissolution of the Union. It is trne that the terri torial legislature of Kansas, on ihe 23d of Febi rasry. 18CU. passed in grewt haste an act, over the veto of the governor, declaring that slavery "is. and shall be, forever prohibited In this Territory." Such an act, however, plainly violating the rights of property secured by the Constitution, will surely be declared void by the judiciary whenever it shall be presented jn a legal form. Only three days after my inauguration the Supreme Court of the United States solemnly adjudged that this power did not exist in a ten i torial legislxtnre. Yet such has been the factious temper of the times that the correctness of this decision has been extensively "impugued before he peopl"-, and the question has given rise to Angry political conflict throughout the country. Thoe who have appe-ilcd from this judgment of ftrt'r highest constitutional tribunal to popular as semTilies would, if they could, invest a territorial legislat ure with power to annul the sacred rights of property. This power Congress is expressly forbidden by the Federal Constitution to exercise. Kvry State legislature in the Union is forbidden by its own constitution to exercise it. It cannot he exrci.ed in any State except by the people in their highes sovereign cap iMty when framing Or amending their Siate constitution. In like manner, it tan only be exercised by the people of a Territory represented in' a convention of dele gaze's for the purpose of framing a coustitnt'on p'reparato'ry to admision as ft Stare inlothe Union. Then, and not till hen a,re . they Invested with power to " decide the q iesrton whether slavery shall or shall not exist within their limits. . This is an act of sovereign authority, and not:of subordinate territorinl legislation. Yere it ctl.er-wise.then indeed would the equality of the States in Ihe Territories be destroyed, and the rights of property . in slaves would depend, not upon the guarantees of the C institution, hut npon the shifting minorities oif 0 irTesfohtrible territorial legislature Such a 'doctrine,. from its intrinsic unoiindness, cannot ling influence any considerable portion' of our people, muchI .teas can it ff ,rd a good reason for a dissolution cf the Union. ': Tbe most palpable violations of cOnstitottonal duty which hav yet committed consist in the act of ditTrent State legislatures: to defeat the execution of the fugitive slave lw. -.-It oug'nV to b remembered, however that for these acts, neither Congress nor any President can justly be h-ld responsible. Having been passed in violation of the Federal Constitution, they are therefore n oil nd void. : All the courts, both State; and national, before whom the. question hs arisen, have from the begining declared thefugitives-slave law to he constitutional." The single exception. is that of a Slate court in Wisconsin and this has not only been reversed by the proper appollate tribunal, but has met with such dni-versal reprobation that there can he no danger from it as a precedent. Toe validity of this law has been established over and over again by the Supremw Court of the United States with perfsct nuni"mity. It is fonnded upon an express pro-vistiin of the Cdusttttst'torv, requiring that fugitive slaves who escape from service iu . one State to another shall be "delivered up' to their masters. Without this provision it is a Well-kuowo histori. cal fnct that the Constitution itself could never have been adopted by the Convention. ; In one firm or other under the .acts of 1793 and 1830, both being substantially the same, the fugitive-slave law has been the law of the lund from the d ys of Wasnington until ihe present moment, .Here., then a clear case is presente ', in which it will oe the duty nt the iext President, as it has n,Tn ow,V 19 BCi w,:" '"rJn xer,,Hnf this SiiDrem" law Against the confi'cting enact ments of Stale legislatures. Should he fail in the performance of this high doty, he will then have manifested a disregard of the Constitution and laws, to the great injury of the people of pearly one-half of the S'ates of the Uoion. But are we to presume in advance that ha will tbna violate his duty ? "- This would be At War with every principle of justice and of Christian charity. Let us wail for the overt act. The fujritive-slave law has b sen carried into execution in eve ry eontested case since the commencement of - the piesent administration ; though often it ie to be regretted with great los and inconvenience to the tuHSter, and with considerable expense to the government'. Let us trust that the State legislatures will repeal their unconstitutional and obi)oKiou8 enactments. Uulrss this shall be do'ie without unnecessary delay, it is i n possible for any human p-iwer to save ttie Union. The Southern S'.ates. standing on the basis of the Constitution, have a right to demand this not of justice from the Slates of the North. Should ii be refused, then the Constitution to which all the States are parties, will have been wilfully violated by one prion of them in a pro-visioa essential to the domestic security and happiness of the remaiirdcr. In that event, the iu jured State3, after having Erst used all peaceful and Constitutional means to obtain redress, would be justified in revolutionary resistance to tbe Govermu ut of the Uuiou. I have purposely codned my remarks to revo lutionary resistance, because it has bee o claimed within the Uat few years that Any State, whenever this shall be its sovereign will and pleasure; may secede from ihe Union, in accordance with the Coiistit ution, and without any violation of the cousuiiona4 rights of the other members of the Confederacy. That as each became parties to the Union by the vote of its own people assembled in Conveniion, so any oue of them may retire from the Union in a similar manner by tbe vote of such a convention. In order to justify secession as a constitutional remedy it must bt oo the principle, that the Federal Government is a mere voluntary Association of States. tba dis64ved at pleasure by any one of the contracting parties. If this be a, the Confederacy is a rope of sard, to be penetrated and dissolved by the first adverse wave of public opinion in any of tbe States. la . this manner our thirty-three States may resolve themselves 1 n I n . . : 1 I . 1 1.1! ..v ma waj pht, jamAc. aJ-ooauie rrpuunci, each one retiring from the Union, without responsibility, whenever aay suddko excitement might impet them to saeh a Coarse. By Ibis pro cess Union might be entirely broken iota fragments lo few weeks, which coat oof forefathers Many years of toil, privatioa, aad blood 4o establutu ,""--,' ; , - . Saeh pTffpl i woolly !neonsietehVitb tbe history as well as the eharcter of the Federal Constitution. After U was fraas'ed, with the greAteat dIIbrAtioi aad-aara, it was submitted to oareatioot of the. people, of the several States for rallS rat ion. Its provisioea vera discnaabd at length in thesa bodies, com posed of the first men of the ooantry. Its opoaaaU eon tended that it conferred powers epoa th Fadersi Qorsra- ment daogeroas to the rights of the States, whilst its advocates maintained that under a fair construction of the instrument there was no founda tion for such apprehensions. In that might strcg gle between the irat intellects of this or any other country, it never ocenred to anj individual, either among its opponents or advocates, to assert, or even to intimate, that their efforts were all vain labor because the moment that any State felt herself agrieved be might secede from tbe Union: What a crashing argument would this have proved against those who dreaded that the rights of the States wouldjbe endangered by the Constitution. The troth is, that it was not until many years after the origin of the Federal Government that such -a proposition was first advanced. It was then met and . refuted by tbe conclusive arguments of General , Jackson; who in his message of 16 h January, l83o, transmit ting the nullifying ordinance of South. Carolina to Congress, employs tbe following language: "The right of the people of a single State to absolve themselves at will, and without the consent of the other States, from their most solemn obli gations, and hazard the liberty and happiness of the millions composing this Union, cannot he acknowledged. Such authority is believed to be utterly repugnant both to the principles upon which the General Government is constituted and to the objects which it was expressly formed to attain." " It is not pretended that any clause in the Constitution gives countenane to stich A theory. It is altogether founded upon inference, not from any language contained m the instrument itself, but from the sovereign character of the several States by wln'eh it was ratified. But is t beyond the power of a State, like an individual, to yield a portion of its sovereign rights to secure the remainder T in the language of Mr. Madison, who has been called the father of the Constitution t "It was formed by the States that is the people in each of the States acting in their highest sovereign capacity; and formed the State constita-' lions." -. .; .--' Nor is the Government of the United States, created by the Constitution, less a Government in the strict sense of the term, within the sphere of its powers, than the governments created by the constitutions of the 8ates are, wiibio their several spheres. It is, like thern organized into leislative, executive, and judiciary departments.: It . operates, like them, directly on persons and things; and like them, it has at commard a physical force for executing the powers committed toil."- . - r; . It was intended to be perpetual, and not to be at tbe pleasure of any one of tbe contracting parties. The old articles c-f confederation were 'entitled Articles t f C uifedr&tiori aad Psrpet-nal Union between the States and by the IMth article it is rXpressly declared that "that articles of this Confederation shall be inviolablybservt-d, by every Stale, and ihe J.Ttiin shall be perpet-nal," The preamble to the Constitution of ihe United Stales, having express rtft-rence to the' artrCles of Confederation, recites that it was es tablished ''in order to form a more pe.rftCi union." And yet it is contended that this "mora'perlect union " does hot include the edseutial aiinbute of perpetuity. But ibat-ihe Union as designed to be perpetual appears conclusively from tbe nature and extent of the powers conferred by the C institution ou the Federal Governments T1 powers embrace the very highest attributes of national sovereignty. They place both the sword and the purse under its control. Congress has power to make war, and to make peac i to raise aud sup-Kirt armies and navies, and, to conclude treaties with foreign governments. It is invested With the po Wer to win money, and to regulate the value thereof, aud o regulate commerce With foreign nations, and among . the several States. It is not necessary to ehnaierate the other high poWeVs which have been conferred ujon the Federal Government. n order to carry the eiiumeP ated powers into eflfVct, Ciingress possesses the exclusive right to lay and collect iluties on imports, and in common with the States to lay and collect all other faxes-. But tn'e Constitution hAS not only conferred these high powers upon Congress, but it has adopted effect nal means to restrain the States from interfering with their exercise. For that purpose it has, in strong prohibitory language, j expressly declared that "no State shall enter into any treaty, alltanc", or confederation graot letters of marque and reprisal , coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver. coin a tender in payment of debts'; pass Any bill of Attainder, ex pott facta law,or law impairing the obligation of contracts." : Moreover, "without the consent of Congress, no State shall lay any imposts or duties on Any imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws;" and if they exceed this amount, the excess shall belong to the United States. And ' no S'.ate shall, withont the content of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage; keep. troops, or ships of war, in timeXjf peace; oer into any agreement or compact with auother State, or with a foreign power; or engage in war, unless actually invnded. or in such imminent danger as will not admit t f delay." : n order still further to secure the nninterrup ted execise of these high powers against Stste in-terposiiioni it is provided "that this Cimstitutioti and the laws of trie United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof ; and all treat es made, or which the authority of the United Slates shall be the supreme law of the : land ; and the judges in every State shall be hound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any Siate to the contrary notwithstanding." - The solemn sanction of j-elig-ion has been superadded to the obligations of official duty, and all senators and representatives of the United Slates, all members of Stte legislatures and alt executive and judicial offii-ers. "both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or flirmaitoo to support this Con stitution. : fu onler to carry Into effect these powers, the Constitution has established a; perfect Grn-ment in all its forms. Legislative, Executive, and Judicial ; and this fJuverntiient to ihe extent of ts powers, acts directly npon the individual ciit tens of every Statej and tiecntea its own decrees by the agency of its ps tfBeers. In this respect it differs entirely from lie Government ttodeif the old Confederation, which waa confined to making requisitions on tie States in their sovereign character . This left it in . the discre tion of each whether to obey or to refuse, and they often declined to comply with such requisitions. It thus became necessary, for the purpose of removing this barrier, and "in order to form a mare perfect Union, to. establish a Gov-eroraent which could act directly . npon the pw pie. And sxeeute lis own laws without tbe tstei" mediate agency of the States. This hai been accomplished by the Coosti tation of th United Stata. : ' : ; la ahnrt-ina Government treated hf 1vCon stitaiion, and deriving iu Authority fronjthftsot reign people of each of tba several Btatea, as precuely tho same right, to exercise, its power o r the people of ll these States, Irt tb enomeR ated. cases, that each one of them 'possesses oaer sobjeeu not delegated to the States respectivsly or to tbe people." - ' ' ?1 Z'J ' i-. ;rTft the extent of the delegated power the Con. stifution of the TJoited.St U a mech part of the constitution of eAch State, and . Is as. bind ing epoa its people, a dough it Laa txea lex tnaMw inaertAd therela. This GoTerntneBt, therefore, U a greAtod powerful Government, invested - with all the at tnbnteef io'vereignty 9er theNpeclal subjecU to which its authority extends t Its framers eev-er intended to implant iejU bosom this seeds of its own destruction, nor were tley it its creation guilty of the absurdity of providing for its own dissolution. It was not ii?ten3e by its framers to be the baseless fabric of a vision which, at the touch of the enchanter, would Evanish into thin Air, but a substantial and mighty fabr'c, capable of resisting the alow decay of time and of defying the storms Of ages. Indeed, well may the jealous patriots of that day have indulged fears that a government of such high powers , might violate the reserved rights of the States, and wise iy did they adopt the rule of a strict construction of these powers to prevent the daogerl But they did hot fear, nor had they any reason to imagine, that the Constitution would ever be so in1 terpreted as to enable any State, by her own act, and without the consent of ber sister Stales, to discharge her people from all or any of their Fedetal bbligatiotiB, ; ..; , . . It may be asked, then, are the people of the States without redress against the tyranny And oppression of the Federal Government? By no means. The right of resistance oh tbe part of tbe governed against the oppression of their governments cannot be denied. It exists independently of all constitutions, and has been exercised at all periods of the . world's butory. . Uoder. it old governments have Been destroyed, and hew ones have taken their place. It , is embodied in strong and express language in eur own Declaration of Independence. But. the distinction must ever be observed, that thi4 Is revolution a-gainst an establUbed Government, and not a voluntary secession from it by virtue of an inherent constitutional right. In short, let us look the danger fairly in the face: Secession is neither more nor less than revolution. It ma of it may not be justifiable revolution, boi still it is revola tion. : . -- What, in the mean time, id the responsibility and true position of the executive? He is bound by solemn oath before God And the country "to take care that tbe laws be faithfully executed," and from this obligation Ve cannot be absolved by any human power. But what if the performance of this duty, in whole tir in part, has been rendered impracticable by events over which he could have exercised uo control? Such, at the present moment, is the case tbronghout the State of South Carolina, so far as the laws of the U. S. to secure the administratioa of justice by means of the Federal Judiciary Are concerned: Alt the Federal ofScers within its limits, through whose agency alone these laws can be carried into execution, have already resigned. . We no longer have a d strict judge, a district attorney, or marshal, iu Souih Carolina. In fact, the whole maohitiery of the Federal Government, necessary for the distribution of remedial justice among the people, has been demolished; and it rould be very difficult, if not impossible, io .replace it. The only acts of Congress On the statute-hoik. tearing upon this snl ject. are those of the 28th Februar-, 1795. and 3d March, IH07. These authoriz the President, after he shall have as. certaii.ed that the marshal with his posse comila tits is unable to execute civil or criminal proees-i in any particular case, to call forth the militia and employ the arm aud navy to aid him in performing this service, having first by Proclama tion com manded the 'insurgents "to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes, within a Jhmted time. -This doty ftutuot bv poesi bility be performed in a State where no judicial authority exists to issue pro :ess.'and where there is no marshal to execute it. and where, even if there were snch an officer, the entire population would constitute one solid combination to esist him. v The bare enumeration of these provisions proves how inadequate they are withm t farther legislation to overcome a united opposition to a single State, not to speak of other States who may place themselves in a similar attitude. Con g res A alone has power to decide whether the present laws can or cannot be amended so as to carry nut more effectually tbe objects of the Consti tution. The same insuperable obstacles do not lie in the way of executing the. laws fur the collection of the customs'. Tbe revenue still continues to be collected, as heretofore, at the custom house in Charleston; and should the collector uufortu nately resign, a successor may be appointed to Perform this duty. Then In regard to the properly of the United States In South Carolina. This has been purchased for a fair equivalent, by the consent of the legislature of tbe Stale," "for the erection of farts, magazines, arsenals,"4c., and Over these the authority "to exercise exclusive legislation" has been expressly granted by the Constitution to Congress-. - It is not believed that any attempt will be made to expel the United States from this property by force; but if in this I should prove to be mistaken, the officer in command of the forts has received 'orders to act strictly on the defensive, in sucu a contingency, the responsibility for consequences would rightfully rest upon the heads of the," assailants. Apart frOm the execution of the laws, so far as thVs may be practicable, the Executive has no authority to decide what shall be the relations between the federal government arid South Carolina. He has been invested with nd such discre: tion. He possesses no power to change the re lations heretoftre existing between them, much less to af knowledge the independence of that Stat . This would be trf Invest A mere Executive officer with the power of recognizng t- dissolution of the Confederacy among ocr thirty three soveteign States. Ii bears no resemblance to the recognition of a foreign fe facto government, involving no: such responsibitity. Any attempt to do this would, ou his part, be a naked act of usurpation. It is, therefore, my dutv to submit to Cnk?ress the whole nnestion in all i" j bearings. The course of events is so rapidly UH9,CUI,-K A-'&WBk.U. .UW. w . lit. "K ...... . . arise, when yt'u may be called upon to decide the momentous question whether yoa posaess the power, by force tf arms, to compel a S'8-'1 0 W mm AMnM . 'immA lK. I , Vl A .M.,.,annV mt I Mnn remain in the Union. I should feel myself re creant to my duty were I not to express an opto ion on this important sotject. The question lairlv stated is: Haa the-Consti lotion delegated to Congress the power to coerce a State info submission which is attempting to wiihdraw or has actually withdrawn from the Con fedefacjf If answered in the affirmative, it must be on the principle that the power las been conferred npon Congress to declare and to make war against a State. After ranch serious reflection. I have arrived At the conclusion that no such power has been .delegated to Congress or to any other department of the federal Governments-It is manifest, upon An Tnspectioa of the Constitution, that this is Hot amOng th specific and enumeratrd powers granted to Congress; And It is equally apDarent that its exercise is not "bee essary and proper.for cArrying InW exeeillion any one of these powers. So far from this pow ef having betri detegated to Coogrert.it was e pressiy refused by the contention which Tr Anted the Constitntion. '" ' " j It atjpeara, from the proceedings oTihAtbody. tbAl on tbeIst May, 1787. the clans "auiuor teiny etertioi fiftiufarce of the 6ho7e agtUiut a d?linplen( .Slate . cm9 op for consideration. Mr: Madison opposed it in a brief bat powerful speech fro'tn which I shall extract bat A single sentence. MIe cbservedr -i.?Tho nse of . force 1 gainst a Stale would look to ore Use a declaration of war than an ioiction of punishment; and would probably be considered by the perty At tacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by which it might be bound." Upon his motion the clause was uoanimoualy postponed and wasJ never, xf oeuvve, again presented. kOn afterwards, on the 8ib June, IT 87, when incidentally adverting to the subject, hesaidr "Any Qovt-ra inent Tor the United States, foraied on the sop-posed practicability of using force against tbe unconsUtptional proceedings of the Statss would prove ai visionary and fallacious as. tbe government of Congress," evidectly meaning' the then existing Congress of the old Confederation. , Without descending to particulars, it may be safely asserted, that the power to make war a. gainst a State is at variance with the whole spirit and intent of the Constitution. . Suppose each a war should result in the conquest of a State, bow are we to govern it afterwards? Shall we hold it as a province, and govern it by despotic power? In the nature of things we could not, by physical force, control the will cf tbe people, and compel them to elect senators And represen tativesto Congress, And to perform all the other duties depending upon their own volition, and required from the free citizens of a free State as a constituent member of the Confederacy. But. if we possessed this power, woold it be wise to exercise it .under existing circumstances? The ohject would doubtless be to preserve the Union. War would not obly present the most effectnal means of destroying it; but would banish all. hope of its peaceable reconstruction. Besides, in the fraternal conflict a vast amount tf blood and treasure would be expended, rendering future reconciliation between the States itf.poBaible. In the mean time, who can foretell hat would be tbe sufferings and privations of the people diirinjg its existence? The fact is, that our Union rests npon public opinion, and can never bVcementiul by the Mood of its citizens shed in civil war. . If it cannot live in ihe affections of the people, it must oue day perish'. Cengres possesses ma,ny means of preserving It bj .eonciii:ittou; bot the. sword vrss hoi placed in iheir hand to preserve It by foree... : But nay Ibe perm lie solemnly to invokei thy eounlrymen to pause and. ileliV.eraie, before they determine to destroy this, the : grandest temple which has ever ben deoicated to b'umafi freedom since the world beg,n! It baa bean conseortd by the blood of our fathers, by the glories of. the iitst. and by the hopes of the future The Union ins already niad us the most prospetoua and, ere loug, will, II preserve!, render us the most powerful nation on the face of ttTe earth -In every foreign regiod of the globe the title of Amerieaa citlsen is hefd in the highest revpeel, and when pronoonred f h a foreign land it causes the hrt of our countrymen to swall wfth honel pride. Surely when we reach the brink .of the yawning abyss, we shall recoil with horror from the. Issi fa-lnl plunge. By such a dread catastrophe the hopes of the friends of freedom throughout tha world Would be destroyed, nrid a long night of leaden des-petism would enshroud the nitiona, Our eaaro-ple f r more than eighty years would not only be lost; bat il wouM be qnoted as a conclusive proof that mao 1 uufit for olf goveroment. It I iiot every wrong nay, H is not every grievous wrong which eau justify a resort to snch a fearful alternative. This ought to be the last desperate sem'ed y of a despairing people, after every other cotisliiutiou&l meaosf conciliivtiou had been exhaateJ. Wo should refl-ct that under this free Govrromeut tkere is an iucesaaut ebb and flow ia public opinion. Th slavery qxstiou,like everything human, will have its nay. I firmly believe that it baa already reached and passed the culminating polut. But if, Iu the midst of ths existing excitement, the Uoiod shall perish, the evil may than become irrepantble, Congress cab contribute much to avert it by proposing and recom'moud-iug to the legislature of the aeveral Slaa the remedy for existing -, which the Constitution has itself provided fur its own preservation, This has been tried at different critical periods of our history, aud alwaj a with. eminent sueeeaa. It U to be found in the 5th article providing for IU own amendmeut- Under this article amendments have bean proposed by two-thirds of both hoaaea of Congress, and have been rati5e5 by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several Slates," and have consequently become parts of the Constitution To this prooess the couutry is indebted tor the clause prohibiting Congress from passing anv. law reKpecting aa etab!ihmeut of religion, or bri-g!ng the freedom of speech or of the press, or of iho right of petition. To thia we are, also indepted for the Bill of Rights, which secarea the people against any abuse of power by the Federal Government, feuoh were the apprehensions jnsU ly entertained y the friends of Stat riefjU at that period as to have rendered it extremely doubtful whether the Const itutlon could hare long surviv ed without theae araeudoienta. - Again, the Coustttutioo was amended by th'e same process afier the election of President Jeffer-sort by the House of Representative, la February ltfD4. .This amendment was rendered neceaaaiy oi preven'a recutrence of the dangers which hai se riously tnteaieoed tbe existence of tne uovern-ment during the pendency of that election. The article for its own amendment was iotended lo secure lha amioable adjustment of conflicting - eon-sliluouef o,uations like tbe preaent, which might ariae between the governments of ibe Stale aod tht of the Uuited Slates. This appears from conteuiporaneoua history. In connection, I ahull merely call attention to a few aenieneea Ii Mr. MaJion's justly-celebrated report, in 1793, to tli legislature bf Virginia. In this be ably aud conclusively defended tbe reeolulious of the preceding legtalature. against the slricturee of eeveral ether State irgialatiire. Theae were mtinly fonaded , bpou h pro teat of tbe VirgihU legislature against tbe M Alien and Sedition Acta' aa "palpable and a'armiug infrsetlon of the Constitution." Ia potaUdg Odt the teaceful and constitutional rem eotei, and lie referred to none other, to whl-h the. 5 la tea were authorized to rort no such occasions he eoneludea by aayie.r, "thut the leg'ialitturea of the Slate might have made a 1-reet repreeentatioa 10 Coilgrti? wttH A Vl.-w to obtain a rescinding of ibe tweotTeualve acta; or they mihl havj r." prose Died to their re pec five aenatora in Congrea their wish that t woe thirda thereof Wou'd propose an rxplxtifftary amendment to the Conalito-ion, or two-thirds of themaelfei, If snch had been their optiou, might, by an application to CosgreM, have obtained, a cooveniioa for tne same object."-This la the very edUrse which I eat neatly recommend in order to.obtaid td expUnatory amenl-inent" of the Constitution on the Subject of )ay-ery. This mightoriglnaie wi'h Cngre or the Sute legislature, as may be deemed most advisable to attaiullie object. The explanatory ArBettdment might be cenfiaed to the fiaal Mttletneal of the I rue construction of th Couxtitulion on three epecial poi nU: 1. An exprea recognition of th right of property ia slave in. the Sute where it nuw exUU or may hereafter exist.". 2. The duty of protecting this rtht in All the common Terri lorlea llirodghont their- territorial existence, abd until they shall be admitted avSute into the Uuioo withTor without slavery, aa their onstilutiOH may preecribe. 3. A like recognilion of the right 8f the master te have hia stave, who ha escaped from one Stat to another, restored and "delivered up" to htm, and of the validity r tha fagitive-alav la enacted for this purpose, together with a declaration that all Sute laws Impairing or defeating this tight are violations of the ConstJtalion, and Ate eonscqoeDtly null and void. It may be objected that this construction of the Const itntfon has Already been settled by the Sopreme Cotrft of the United States, and what mora" doitt io be required?' The answer is. that si very large proportion of tbe people' of the 0. S. still cos test the' correctness of thU decision. and never vriH cesrae frota agitation and admit its binding fwrce antil rUirly esubliibtd by the people Cf the aeveral States ta' thei Acvereia chars ctef". , Snch n rxp'io atory amend meo t Wcfhld, it i balieved, forevar terminate tbe ei istln'i dissensions and revere '(e&ce tad tirao-ey am on if the utci, - .- - - r It ought not to ba dontttd that snch as Appeal to tha AUUAT7rt esubUsbed by the Ccnstltn tion itself woold be received with favor by all the States of the Confederacy. Ia any event it ought to be tried ia a spirit of conciliation before any of these States shall separate themselves from the Union. When I entered npon the duties of the presidential office, the aspect neither of our foreign nor domestic affairs was At all satisfactory! We were involved in dangerous complications with several nations, and two of our .Territories, were ia a stale of revolution against the Government-A restoration of the African slave trade had numerous And powerful advocate. Unlawful military expeditions were countenanced by many of our citizens, and were suffered, in defiance of the efforts of the Goverumeut, to escape from our shores, for the purpose of making war upon the unoffending people of neighboring republics with whom we were at peace. In addition to these and other difficulties, we experienced a revulsion in monetary effairs, soon after my advent to power, of unexampled severity and of ruinous consequences to all the' great interests of the country. Wjen ne take a retrospect of what was then our condition and contrast this with its material prosperity at the time of the late presidential election, we have abundant reason to return our grateful thanks to that" merciful Providence which has never forsaken us as a nation io all our past trials. - OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS. GKF.AT B1UTAIX. Our relations with Great Britain are of the most friendly character. Since the commence' ment of my administration, the two dangerous questions, arising from the Clayton aud Bui wer Teaty and from the right of search claimed by ihe Briji-h govern ment j have been amicably and honorably adjusted. The discordant constructions of the C'nyton and Bulwer treaty between the two governments which, at different periods of the discussion, bore a threatening aspect, have resulted in a Goal tet-tleoient entirely satis-factory to this Government. In my last annual m-ssage I informed Congress that the British government r.adTtot then -com pleted treaty arrangements with the repuMiej f.f j Honduras and Nicaragua, in pursuance o the understanding beitceen the two governments. It is nevertheless confidently expected that this good work w;ll ere long be accomplished." This confident expectation has ririce been fulfilled. Her Britauic Mrj-iy concluded a treaty with Honduras on the 2!th Novemb-n-. 1 859. and with Nicaragua on the 28th August, I860. relinqu:sh ing the M-q jit protectorate. Besides, by the former, the Bay Islands are recognised as a part of ihe republic of Honduras. It may bs observed that the stipulation of these treaties confi-rm in every important particular to the amendments adopted by the Senate of the United States to the treaty eof-cloded at Loudon on the 17th Oc-uber, 18J6. between the two government. It will be rec-!iecied that this Ireaty was rejected by the Br ."&h government because of its objection to tbe just and important amendmentof the Senate to tbe article relating to Ruatan and tbe other islands in Bay of Honduras. It roust be a source of sincere satisfaction to all classes of our fellow-citizens, and especially to tboae enraged in foreign commerce, lhat tbe claim, on tbe part of Great Britain, forcibly to visit and search American merchant vessels on the high seas in time of peare, has been abani doaed; This was by far the mott dangerous question to the peace of the two countries which ha existed iince the war of 1812. Whilst it re-maioed open, tney might at an? moment have been precipitated into a war. This was rendered manifest by the exasperated state of public feeling tbronghout our entire country, produced by the forcible search of American merchant vessels by BritUb cruisers on the coast of Cuba, io tbe spring of 185'S. The A merican people hailed with general acclaim the orders of the Secretary of the Navy to our naval force in the Gulf of "Mexico.: 'to protect all vessels of the United States oh the high seas from search or j detention- by the vessels-iof-war ot any other na- tion." These orders might have produced an immediate collision between ibe naval forces of tbe two countries. This was most fortunately prevented by an appeal to tbe justice of Great Britain and to the law of natious as expounded by her own most eminent jurists'. The only question of any importance which still remains open is the disputed title between the wo government to' the inland of San Juan in the vicinity of Washington Territory. As thi question is still under negotiation, it ia not deemed advisable at the present moment to make anv other allusion to the subject. The recent visit of the Prince of Wales, in a private character, to the people of this country, has proved to be a most auspicious event. In its consetjnences, it cannot fail to increase the kindred and kindly feelings which I trust may ever actuate the government and people of fco'h countries in their political and social intercoarse with each other. ; faaxce. With France', our ancient And1 powerful ally, ocr relations continue io be of the most friendly character. A decision has recently been made b. a Frerch judicial tribunal, with the approbation of the Imperial G overnment, which cannot fail to foster the sentiments of mutual " regard that have no long -existed between the two countries. Under the French law no person can erve in the armies of France unless be be a t rench citizen. The law of France recognt ing the natural right of expatriatior.; it fot'ows as a necessary consequence that a Frenchman, hy the fact of bavier become a citizen of ihe United Stales, has changed his allegiance and baa lost his native character. . : He eannot, there-f re, be compelled to serve In the French armies in case be should return to bis native country. Theae principles were announced in 1852 by the French Minister of War. and ia two late cases have been confirmed by ibe French judiciary. In thesa, two rat's of France have been discharged from the Frenc h ermy because they had become Amerieau citizens. To employ the lan guage i)f our preietlt rfaiuister to France, who has rendred good service ott this A-raion; ! do not think oor French naturalized fellowiti-zens will hereafter experience muf-h annoyance on this subject, I venture to predict that the time is not far distant when the other continental powers will adopt the same Wise and just nolicy which has done so mnch honor to the enlightened government of the Emperor. In any event, oar Govern mer.t is bound to protect the rights of oor naturalised , citixens everywhere to the same extent AS though they had drawn their first breath ia this country. We can reoognu no distinction between our native aud naturalized ciuxans. : kcajiI. . . - Between the gee at empire of Xtassia and the United Stetes tbe mutual friendship and regard which has so loot existed still contToaee io prevail. Aod, i- poeslble. to increase. Indeed, our relattobt with that Empire axe all tlal we could desire. r " J .V,- Irltir. -' ' - ' Oor reTat'ons with Spain are now of nlofe complicated though less 'dangerous carActer thAn tbey bate been for mant years, ur iu. zens have long held, and eontiane to boldi merons claims ageinst tha Spanish gofernmest. Thesa had teen aUy urged for a eeris of years Hy rur saecessive diploraatie represenUl.ves at llaJrid,' but. without obtaining redress. Tbe Span-ib govemmeat finally agreea so foe tha adjustment xf these io.at Ci-imia&i on claims, and oa the 6th day of ilarch, 18C0. oon- ei eowventooa tor taw pvna v present miaister at Madrid. Under this convent lion, what have been denominated Hhe Csbai claims,' amouutipg to $128,635 and fii eenti in. which more than one hundred of our fellow citizens are interested, were recognized, and the Spanish government agreed to pay flOO.CQJ of this amount wilhin three months following tbe exchange of raiiSeations.' The payment of the remaining $29,635 54 was to await the de' cision of the commissioners for or agaiosf'lhe Amistad claim " but in any event the balance was to ba paid to the claimants either by Spaio or the United States. These terms I have every reason to linow are highly sal is Factory to the holders of the Cuban claims- ludeed, they have made a formal offer authorizing the State Department to settle these claims, - and to deduct ibe amount of ths Amistad claim from the sums which they are entitled to receive from Spain. This offer, of course, cannot be accepted. , All other claims of citizens bf the United Stales against Spain, or of subjects of tbe Queer! of ispaina. gainst the United Slates, including the "Amistad claim," were by this convention refeis red to a board of commissioners in tbe usual form. . Neither the validity of the Amistad claim nor of any other claim agait st either party, with tbe single exception or the Cuban claims, was recognized- by the convention. Indeed, the Spanish government did not insist that the valid ity of the Amistad claim should be thus recog n'ued, notwithstanding its pajmeut hid beed reconmeu9fcd to - Congress by two of my prede-' cessors as well as myself, and an appfopriatio!! for that purpose had passed tbe Senate of the . United States. They were content that it should be submitted to the board for examination And decirion, like the oiher claims.. Both govern' ubents were bound respeotively to pay thd amounts awarded to the several claimants .! suvh times and places as may be fixed by and according to the teuor of said awards.'' I transmitted this convection to the enatS lor iheir constitutional action on tLe 3d May) 1 &G0, and oa the 27th ci the succeeding Jur.e they determined that they would "not advise and consent to its rntiucation. These proceedings place our relations wita Spain in au Awkwatd and embarrassing posi' tion. It is more than probable thai the final adjustment of these claims Will devolve epos my successor. . I reiterate tbe recommendation contained I'd my Annual Message of December, 1&8, and re' peated iu tLitt of December, 1859, in favor of the acquisition of Cuba from Spain by fair pur chase. I firmly behove that snch an . acquiai (ion would contribute essentially to the well-be ing and prosperity of both cooutries io all fatura time, as wed as prove tbe certain means of im meidately abolishing tbe Afiican slave-trade throughout tbe woild. I would not repeat this recommendation upon the present occasion, if I believed that the transfer of Cuba to tba United ".THte, upon conditions' highly favorable to Spain, c-ou d justly tarnish the national honor of the proud and ancient Span'ub Monarchy. Sure ly no person ever Attributed to the first Xapole on a disregard of the national honor of France, fur transferring Louisiana to tbe United StateA tor a fair equivaleut both ia money and eOmmsr clal Advantages : itSTBlA, AC, With the Emperor of Austria, and the remain log contimental powers of Europe, including that of the Saltan, our relations coutmue to the moat ftiendiy charaetcf, CBliri. , , : . The friendly and peaevful by the Govern ttet. I of the United States towards the empire of China has produced ihe most satisfactory results. The treaty of Tientsin of the 18th of June, 163, has been faithfully observed by the Chinese sc ihorities. The convention of the 6th November 1838, supplementary to this treaty,, for the ad' jusiment and satis fac lio t of tbeclaims of ouf t-iiizsiis of China, referred to in my last Annual Message, has been already curried into effect, so far as this was practicable. ; Under this convention the torn of 500,000 taeU, equal to about $700, 0U0, was stipulated td-be p'lid in satisfaction of the claims of Ameri' can citizens, out.of the one-fifth of tbe receipts for tonnage import, and export duties on Amer ican vessels at the ports of Canton, Shanghacj and Fuchau and it was "agreed that this a mount shall be in full liquidation of all claims of American citizebs at the various ports to this' date," Debentures for this amouut to wit I .300.000 trrU for Canton, 100 OuO Shanghae.aod 100 000 forFuehtu were delivered accordicg' to the terms of the convention by tbe respective Chioese collectors of the customs of these porta to the agent selected by our minister to receive the same - Since that time tbe claims of our citizens have? been adjusted by the board of commissioner p." pointed for that purpose under the act of March 3, 1859. and their awards, which proved satis-' factory to the claimants, have been approved bf our minister. In Ibe the aggregate they arooucf to the sam of $493,694,78. The claimants have! already received a large proportion of the same awarded to them out of the fund provided, and it is confidently expected that the remainder wilt ere long be entirely paid. Afer the awards shall have been satisfied, there will remain a sur; plus of more than $200,000 at tbe dispositioo of Congress. As this will inequity belong to the Chinese government, would not justice require i'.s 'appropriation lo so tne bene.Unt otjeet ia. which the Chinese may be socially, intereated f Our minister to Chii.a. in obedience to his in stru lions, has remain- d perfectly neutral ia tbe wr iiftwten Great Brittin and France and the Chinese empire ; although, in conjunction ; with, the Ru-eiab minister, be was ever n-ndy and wiL ing. had the opportunity offered, to employ hie good offices iu re s tori i . peace between the par ties. It Is but an act of simple jualire, both to our present minister and his predecessors, tj slate, that, they have proved fully equal to . the) delicate, trying, and responsible positions ioi which tbey have on different occasions been pla( ced. ' - . The ratifications of the treats- with Japan con) eluded at Yedoon the 29tb July. 1R5B, were ei chacged at Washington on the 221 May laat,aad tbe treaty iUelf was procfaimed on the succeed iog day. There is good reason to expect thati under its protection and t&flaecce, our trade ana intercourse iih thAt distant and interestlog peo pie will rapidly Iscrea). The ratifications of the treaty were exchsDgedl with nnosual Aolemaity. For hie purpoaa the? Tycoon hadccfeditfed three diatia guished subject ai enoyi extraordioAfy an$ ministers plenipotentiary, who wero recervedaa treated with r marked diUction end kindneeej both by tha Government Aod peoplA of th UaW ted States. There U very reason to Ulievej thiXihef fcafe returned to their native land en-' tJrely AatiiSed with their visit, and l.'-sreJ by the most frieadly feelings for out ec-iry: bsf us ardently hop, ia the lanane cf tbe tf jiif iUeIC that "there shall heoCefcrwari be pcf ;et4 ai peace and frieud.hijj betweeatLe United Stares of America and his tlsjsstj tie Tjcaonr of Japan and bis successor i: ' saazii. ' tilV the wise, conservative, and HUrs-I rcw erementofthe etapire tf Erttil ocr r'.A:ione-Continue Id be tT.ihe m'bst AmicaV. J 'i&s.ilzx' ' " ; itv caiTAOA -" . TKeexeiAgeofthrAtiSct:.a w:: (" n-paUie ef New Granada, ilrr 1 At TTt : on the lOib SptBnbr 1-7 ll l;"x l: delayed front Accidental ctasea, foe m'-U'j